The US has great weight in the Dominican Republic economy

The United States is the most important economic partner for the Dominican Republic and leads the first statistics in terms of remittances with 85% of the total received by the Dominican Republic, 50% of the tourists it receives and represents 22% of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), according to 2024 figures.

In commercial exchange, 33. 7% of the country’s total imports come from the United States and represent 15.19% of total national exports and 72.64% of total exports from free zones.

Taking into account this economic and social weight, the economic policies of that country under the new President Donald Trump can affect or benefit the Dominican Republic.

The economic behavior of the United States is one of the elements that the Central Bank monitors to counteract the impact on the Dominican economy of the challenging international outlook, in order to guarantee the stability of prices and the foreign exchange market.

In the month of December 2024 alone, 80.3% of formal remittance flows, equivalent to US$710.5 million, came from that country, out of a total of US$1,003.5 million in that month. In all of 2024, the country received US$10,756.0 million, an increase of 5.9% compared to 2023.

While in 2023 of total remittances 85.7% came from the United States, in previous years the figures are very similar and 84.5% in 2023, 84.4% in 2022, 84.9% in 2021, 82.7% in 2020 and 76.6% in 2019.

The Central Bank explains that these remittances sent by the Dominican diaspora abroad, as they generate a multiplier effect on consumption, investment and financing of the most vulnerable sectors of the country.

From January to September 2024, U.S. FDI in the country was US$785.2 million, the total for was US$3,571.8 million, or 22%. In 2024, the second country with the highest FDI is Spain with US$499.2 million and third Mexico US$395.9 million and in fourth place US$187.8 million Canada by 2024. In 2023 in the United States, FDI in the country was 30.2%, of US$1,328.5 million and the total for the year for the country was US$4,390.2 million.

Regarding tourism, the U.S. contributed 46% of the foreign visitors that the country received in 2024, (A total of 11,192,047 visits by non-residents by air and cruise ships). And taking into account commercial flights, 50% of these came from the United States. And of the total number of flights, 19% are by Jet Blue, 10% American and 7% Delta, with American capital.